Migrants must be informed about their rights in order to be able to use them and seek protection if they are not respected. In practice, however, this is often not the case, as showed the report “*Migrants’ right to information: from key findings to evidence-based recommendations for policy makers”, which ENNHRI presented on 17th October in the European parliament in Brussels.

Poverty is an enemy of human rights and states are successful to the extent on how much they look after the most vulnerable, said Ombudswoman Lora Vidović at the opening of the conference on energy poverty, that she organised on the occasion of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and Social Exclusion. We are all witnessing the scale of poverty around us, and the official data confirm it: “19,5% of people in Croatia are in risk of poverty and 9,3% cannot afford adequate heating in winter season”, stated Marko Krištof, Head of the Croatian Bureau of Statistics.

Deputy Ombudswoman, Tena Šimonović Einwalter, was elected Equinet Chair of the Executive Board 2017-2019 on October 11 2017, at the first meeting of this new board, immediately after the General Assembly of Equinet Members.

„This is a great honour for me and the Ombudsman institution as well as for Croatia since this is a network which gathers institutions and organisations from the entire Europe, and which has been performing enormous work in creating equality. My goal is to proceed in the same direction towards enhanced protection of diversity and at the same time equality of citizens, irrespective of their ethnicity, age, religion, gender and other characteristics“, stated Šimonović Einwalter.

On the 10th October, Equinet is organizing a conference entitled ‘Together for an Equal Europe’ to mark its 10th anniversary. The conference will bring together high-level speakers and guests from equality bodies, European institutions, international organisations, civil society, national governments and parliaments, academics; many of those with whom Equinet has worked over the years. It will take stock of the progress made and the current challenges in the field of equality, as well as the work of equality bodies in progressing equality and non-discrimination over the past decade. It will create a forum for discussion and shared visions on the perspectives and challenges ahead for equality, particularly the work of national equality bodies in a shrinking space for equality and fundamental rights.

Representatives of 34 Croatian enterprises and organisations have signed the “Diversity Charter Croatia” which obliged them to implement the policy on diversity and antidiscrimination. Croatia is the 19th European country whose enterprises accept the Charter, it was said at the signing event, organised by the Croatian Business Council for Sustainable Development (HR PSOR). It is expected that the signatories abide by the policy on implementation and promotion of diversity and report on undertaken activities with this respect.